Auckland floods: 3-year-old asleep on floating sofa rescued by surf guards

Saturday, 28 January 2023

A 3-year-old boy, sleeping on a couch floating in a flooded home, was one of several people rescued in Auckland on Friday night.

Surf Lifesaving volunteers spent the night rescuing 79 people and assisting many more to safety across West Auckland and the city’s North Shore after significant flooding in the city.

The toddler was one of a family of five rescued from their property in Kumeū by Muriwai Search and Rescue (SAR).

According to Surf Live Saving Northern Region, they were evacuated through a window.

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Muriwai SAR squad co-ordinator Glenn Gowthorpe said the boy was sleeping on a couch.

“His parents put him in a safe place, he was sleeping with a blanket on. The couch was actually floating,” Gowthorpe said.

“He was either blissfully unaware or just content with where he was. He momentarily opened his eyes for a bit when the lifeguards transferred him to the rescue boat but then went straight back to sleep.”

He said even when he was being transported in pitch black waters on the rescue boat, the boy remained asleep.

“He only woke up when we handed him over the emergency services, there was clapping and cheers.”

A second rescue at a nearby property saw an 80-year-old woman evacuated from the second storey of her house.

Earlier on, six people were rescued from rapidly rising floodwaters in Ararimu Valley Rd in Helensville.

On the North Shore, Mairangi Bay SAR squad rescued 69 people from workplaces along Target Rd, Wairau Valley between 8.30pm and 10pm.

Using inflatable rescue boats, the lifeguards ferried groups of five to safety from a number of shops in the area.

They were then alerted to a search for a missing person near Sunnynook Bus Station who was last seen on a kayak. After searching for around an hour the kayak had been found, but not the missing person and the lifeguards were stood down for the evening.

In another rescue, a separate group of lifeguards who were returning home around midnight were flagged down by a group trapped by floodwaters on a high-point on Factory Rd, Waimauku.

They were told a man was screaming for help in his vehicle, which had started to float in the floodwater. The man made it out of the vehicle, and a lifeguard responded with a rescue tube and helped him back to a point of safety. They then provided first aid as the man was beginning to get hypothermic.

The lifeguards then responded to a separate vehicle which hit flood water at speed and became stuck in neck-deep water.

They used a rescue tube and rescued a man and two dogs from the vehicle.

Another man was also rescued from his vehicle nearby, and 10 more assisted when water reduced a few hours later.

Lifeguards from Bethells SAR Squad were first on scene to assist those stuck at Tram Valley Road in Swanson around 4:30pm. One person was rescued from their flooded vehicle, while a further 10 people in six different groups were assisted to safety.

Another group of lifeguards from Bethells SAR Squad responded with IRBs to Waitākere Fire Station to assist Fire and Emergency.

Surf Lifeguards from Mangawhai SAR Squad and Sunset SAR Squad were requested by police to assist with flood water rescues in Maungatūroto and Port Waikato, but were unable to respond due to access points being blocked.